EUGENE, Ore. — Provost Scott Coltrane will be taking on the role of interim President of the University of Oregon. The UO’s Board of Trustees made the announcement after officially accepted former President Michael Gottfredson’s resignation Thursday evening.

At the meeting, the board of trustees discussed Gottfredson’s time at the UO. They say he did a good job dealing with some tough times, including an NCAA investigation into football recruiting, tough financial circumstances, and most recently a sexual assault scandal involving three basketball players.

“I know there’s debate about how much information was made public and timing of that, et cetera, but I think that was done appropriately,” said Chuck Lillis, a member of the UO Board of Trustees.

Gottfredson will be receiving a severance package of about $940,000.

Lillis said Coltrane will most likely be the interim president for about a year, because it will be a lengthy process to find a permanent replacement.